


chance encounters

by caelitea



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Sibling Bonding, Twin AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 20:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4317987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caelitea/pseuds/caelitea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin wakes up to having a certain important necklace stolen from her. She and Reflet endeavor to get it back.</p><p>(Alternatively, how the twins make a poor first impression by standard notions and are recruited into the Shepherds.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	chance encounters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [echoelbo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoelbo/gifts).



> Echo is to both thank and blame for all Twin AU stuff. 8^)  
> this has been in my folder for way too long, i'm getting rusty with writing fics, dang :'(

The situation took a split second too long to register when Robin opened her eyes.

It was the hand near her neck that woke her up, but she had been too disoriented to act immediately—otherwise her opponent would have lost their arm. But being as they caught her at a disadvantage in just about every single way, she realized too late until the hand was already on the thin chain around her neck. With a hard, sharp tug the necklace slipped off easily and the thief yelled for the rest of his team to scatter. Robin grit her teeth, scrambling to her feet, turning her head to see two more bandits reaching for the young man lying beside her.

 _“Thunder!”_ she screeched, a gloved hand on one of the tomes inside her cloak, and the spell scorched the grass around them as the bandits jumped back and scurried away.

Her twin brother groaned at the noise and Robin knelt down, elbowing him in the stomach to speed up his waking. Reflet jumped up, spluttering and ready for attack until he registered his sister beside him as the cause of his rude awakening.

“What was—”

“ _STOLEN!_ ” Robin snarled, a hand flying up to her neck, “By _bandits_! I’ve never been so humiliated! I am going to turn them into _dust_.”

Reflet grimaced at the expression on her face, a mixture of fury and fear, as he reached for his own neck to feel the silver chain still looped around it.

“How did you…?” he questioned, knowing full well that the both of them were protective over their necklaces.

“Well, it was better that it was just one of ours stolen and not both, right?” she replied a bit helplessly, not meeting his eyes.

There was a pause as Reflet gripped the chain, his lips a thin line, grateful that she had protected his when hers had been taken.

“…Thanks. We’ll get yours back, I swear it.”

Robin frowned and scowled, though her brother could read the worry behind her expression.

“We better,” she said, and looked around to fully take in their surroundings. “…Where are we, anyway? I don’t remember falling asleep.”

Reflet followed suit, frowning as well.

“…Neither do I. I have no idea where we are, and that’s…unsettling.”

There was a moment of silence as the twins scrutinized the area briefly, though nothing became any clearer. Robin stood and jerked her head towards the forest, already stepping towards it.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time, then. They headed in there; they’re scattered now, but they should be regrouping. Let’s plot out their route and catch them before they escape completely.”

Reflet clapped his sister on the shoulder and set out at a run, knowing that she’d follow and match his pace. As they ran, they began exchanging plans on how to best subdue the bandits—most of them being elaborate and ending in ugly ways, until Reflet gave his sister a look and they moved onto more rational ones.

Though the ways they ended were not necessarily any prettier.

.

“Alright, so you don’t remember exactly what he looks like, right?” Reflet said, as they balanced themselves on a thick tree branch. The gloves on their hands were a blessing—a welcome protection against the roughness of the bark when they had climbed up, as well as now as they gripped the branch for stability. Robin frowned and thought back, shaking her head.

“The one who took mine was medium to tall, dark hair. Muscular, shoulder pads, with a sword. The ones who were reaching for you were another man and a woman; I can’t remember anything particularly distinctive though. I woke up and my head was killing me and then there was too much going on…”

Reflet bit his lip. It was still odd that they couldn’t remember anything before waking up; Reflet had also noticed an initial dull ache in his head when he had awoken, after the adrenaline from being elbowed in the stomach by Robin had died down. Nothing looked familiar, and even their own bodies had felt momentarily unfamiliar as well. But there were more pressing things to deal with right now, and so they pushed all their unease aside for the moment. Reflet couldn’t help worrying, though, and Robin nudged him to break him out of his reverie.

“Sorry,” he said, as Robin waved the apology away. “Everything set?”

“Yeah. You remember the plan, right?” she asked, and Reflet scoffed, making her grin.

“Just don’t kill him right away, okay? Might as well see if we can get them to lead us to their hideout if they have one and take them all out while we’re at it.”

Robin rolled her eyes and put a hand on his shoulder, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They lifted up the hoods to their cloaks as Reflet dropped down from the branch and Robin disappeared into the treetops.

On the ground, Reflet glanced around quickly and walked over to a boulder, sitting down and leaning his back against it. He slumped down, letting his arms fall limply to the side and his head loll as he closed his eyes, controlling his breathing so that the rise and fall of his chest could not be seen at all. Within moments he looked veritably dead—or at least out cold, as if someone had bashed his head against the boulder and left him there.

He was a perfect target to be robbed.

A three-note bird whistle told him that his sister was in position and that there was a group of three coming, and Reflet smiled before he schooled his expression.

It didn’t take long for the group to show up; the twins had scouted the area earlier, the small forest empty save for the groups of suspicious people walking around, likely to meet up with their boss. They had plotted one of the groups’ route of travel and staged their trap very near to the path they were likeliest to take—not directly to avoid suspicion, but close enough so that they wouldn’t miss Reflet entirely.

“By the Gods! Frederick, someone’s hurt!”

“Milord, please, I must emphasize caution—”

It was too late, however, as the stranger was already by Reflet, checking his breathing and pulse.

 _Two men so far. But by Grima, the first one isn’t very bright, is he?_ Reflet thought to himself as he felt himself carefully being lifted away from the boulder, his head gently supported. _Milord, huh? Bandit leader, probably, though that’s a funny title to use. A desire for power, maybe. But he’s not trying to take anything—maybe they’re looking for recruits._

“Hey! Can you hear me? Lissa, he might’ve hit his head, can you cast a healing spell?”

“Y-Yeah! Leave it to me!”

Reflet felt the cool touch of the healing arts, noting the girl’s voice, and remained quiet for a moment as the spell subsided. Letting his eyes flutter open, he let out a pathetic groan and leaned forward, as if he had a splitting headache.

“What…I don’t…” he mumbled, looking up blearily at the man’s face. Dark hair, muscular judging from the feel of his arms, a silver shoulder pad on his left, and likely on the taller side even though he was kneeling at the moment. He was handsome for a bandit, Reflet thought. He let his eyes slide over to the man named Frederick, dressed in knightly armor, and then to the younger girl who was gripping her staff nervously. The group was well-dressed for bandits, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if they were on the cleverer side and their appearance was simply a ruse for more extravagant thieveries.

“Hey there,” the girl named Lissa said, looking worried as she peered closer. “You okay?”

“Better,” Reflet said, and coughed.

Within seconds Robin had slipped between the knight and the man who had helped Reflet, wrapping one arm around him to pin his right side down, the other holding her sword to his throat. She dragged him up from his kneeling position, Reflet standing up and brushing the dirt off of his cloak.

“Don’t move,” she said venomously to Frederick and Lissa, the former looking furious with himself for allowing something like this to happen as the latter looking scared. She shuffled closer to the knight, who shifted so that his body was in front of hers. “Lay down your weapons, or I slit his throat.”

There was no point in negotiating with that kind of voice, Frederick knew. Slowly, he lowered his sword to the ground as Lissa did the same with her staff, the both of them raising their arms to show that they were harmless.

“You’re not—” their captive began, eyes flickering towards Reflet.

“Yes,” Reflet said before he could finish, knowing what sort of vein the question was going to take, “Quite carefree, aren’t you? Now hand over my sister’s necklace.”

“I don’t—”

“Quiet, vermin,” Robin hissed, and Reflet could see the man shiver at her tone of voice. “You’ve made me _extraordinarily_ unhappy today, now give back what you stole before I change my mind and kill you instead.”

When no one moved, she jerked her chin towards her brother, who stepped closer, patting down the man and searching in the pockets he could see.

“You picked out the weirdest clothes,” he commented as he conducted his search, “And what’s with your…one…sleeve…”

Frederick’s lips thinned as Reflet trailed off. There was an extended moment of silence as Reflet scrutinized the man’s arm.

“Excuse me, what did you say your name was?”

There was another pause as Robin raised her eyebrow at her brother and the man hesitated to respond.

“I didn’t. But it’s…it’s Chrom,” he said, somewhat nervously, and Reflet looked up at the sky in thought.

“…What’s wrong?” Robin said, after the silence had gone on for a while.

Reflet returned his gaze to her, his expression serious.

“Do you want the bad news or _really_ bad news first?”

Robin frowned, not missing a heartbeat with her answer. “Bad.”

“Bad news is that he doesn’t have your necklace. Most likely. I don’t know how his clothes work, but still. Ninety-nine point nine percent sure he doesn’t.”

“O-kay…then what could possibly be even worse news?”

“So…considering neither of us really remembers much for some reason, I can’t say for sure, but…the thing on his arm…I think it’s the Mark of Naga.”

“The Mark of Naga?”

“The Mark of Naga. And if I’m not mistaken, that’s—”

“The mark that belongs to the Exalted family of House Ylisse.”

There was another extended pause and Frederick coughed, though neither of the twins paid any attention.

“Reflet,” Robin said, her face just as serious now.

 “Yeah?”

“You’re telling me I am threatening the Prince Exalt of Ylisse.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Reflet.”

“Yeah?”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t ask me, you’re the one who came up with this plan.”

“You’re supposed to catch my tactical oversight!”

“This is more than just a simple tactical oversight, Robin! You’re the one who saw the bandits, not me!”

“Well… _fix it_!”

“No, _you_ fix it! Ugh, you think he has anything we can take and use as collateral?”

“Yeah, his head.”

“ _ROBIN._ ”

“Well, you asked! Take the sword, then! Rich collectors like that stuff, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“If I may interject,” Chrom tried, but the sword at his neck came dangerously closer—though more in an accidental manner, rather than a purposefully threatening one.

“ _Shhh!_ Wait,” Robin said, her voice quiet as she looked into the distance, although there was nothing to be seen besides the trees. “Do you hear that?”

They were all silent as they listened, and Frederick frowned.

“That sounds like—”

“Screaming!” Lissa gasped in horror.

She had barely finished speaking before Robin had sheathed her sword and pushed Chrom towards Frederick, the prince stumbling as the knight stabilized him. The twins reached for each other as they took off, gripping the other’s wrist, having been intending to pull the other along.

“Reflet! We’re going!”

“You don’t need to tell me!”

It took a moment for Chrom and the others to process what had just happened and react accordingly.

“We’re going too!” he yelled, and Frederick and Lissa answered with an affirmative as they all set out at a run to follow the twins.

The two siblings were fast, dodging obstacles with practiced ease as they conversed. Judging from the tone of their voices, the both of them were quite agitated.

“We miscalculated! The bandits probably bypassed the prince and his crew to avoid them—” Reflet said desperately, and Robin scowled.

“And instead of trapping them in the forest we let them escape into a village, I know. We’ll set this right, I swear by it. Gods help me; I am going to make those bandits _suffer_.”

Frederick and Chrom exchanged a look at the murder in her voice, though the prince was rather curious about the whole affair. Though he had likely just been on the verge of losing his life, it was such a rare occurrence that it had been more intriguing than terrifying. Frederick was one of the best knights in Ylisse; the fact that the twins had staged such a simple plan and the sister had actually managed to one-up Frederick the Wary was quite impressive.

“I am sorry for allowing you and Lissa to be put in such a dangerous situation,” Frederick said in a low voice, and Chrom laughed.

“Don’t be,” he replied, “I was the one who was too hasty. But I think we found some rather interesting people as a result.”

Frederick’s face tensed. “Milord, please reconsider, they just took you _hostage_ —”

“I know, Frederick, but not because they knew who I am. I’m curious to know what their situation is. But there are more important matters at hand right now; they mean to take on the bandits, let’s lend them a hand.” He turned back for a moment, catching his sister’s eye.

“Lissa? You alright?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me, let’s just hurry up and get there before the bandits do even worse damage!” she said, breathing a bit harder but refusing to be left behind.

The town was close by, and by the time Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick had arrived, Reflet and Robin had already entered the fray. They had lowered their hoods, silver hair a shock against the dark purple of their cloaks.

“They’re twins,” Frederick said, with mild surprise.

Their synchronized movements before had implied a close partnership, but just how much was apparent in the midst of battle. They moved with practiced ease, playing to their strengths despite being outnumbered. They moved like a single entity, Robin lunging and slashing with her sword at the opponents who came close, Reflet’s fingertips brushing the pages of his tome as his magic took care of those farther away. Even when the balance was broken, they danced around each other to restore it. They defended and attacked for each other, catching the other’s oversights and weak spots, inherently watching out for their sibling. How attuned they were and complemented each other was remarkable.

Though they seemed to have the battle under control, there was no need to wear them down with extended combat. With a yell, Chrom and Frederick rushed into the fray, drawing enemies towards them to relieve the burden on the twins. Lissa stuck close to their backs, casting healing spells behind Frederick’s protection.

The twins were silent when the battle ended, looking at the bodies and then turning to each other with vaguely confused looks on their faces, as if they couldn’t quite believe that they were the ones who had taken them all down.

“Efficient job,” Chrom commented as his group moved closer.

Robin and Reflet didn’t even flinch, turning to them with a calm demeanor.

“Hello, Princeling,” Reflet said mischievously, with a mock bow. “Fancy seeing you here. We apologize for the recent misunderstanding.”

Frederick’s lips thinned at the other man’s lighthearted manner but said nothing, and Robin shot Chrom a scowl as if it was his fault. She turned a kinder gaze to Lissa, who met her gaze stubbornly this time instead of shrinking back at the venom in her voice.

“Lissa, right?” Robin said, tilting her head towards the town hall, “Some of the villagers were injured by the brutes, they could use your expertise. We gathered most of the wounded in there.”

The young princess blinked at the confidence that was being placed in her, but nodded determinedly. Frederick stopped her from walking towards the building with a hand on her shoulder, his expression schooled, but evidently suspicious.

Robin shrugged, understanding what he was thinking.

“Reflet can show you the way, if you want. I’m going after the leader, I want my property back.”

Her brother glanced at her. “Looks like there was no hideout or anything, just a ragtag team.”

Robin met his gaze, and nodded.

“I’ll be quick.”

She slunk off, and Reflet waved for the others to follow him, though Frederick was still tense. There was still the possibility of an ambush, but Reflet crossed quickly and opened the door to the town hall, revealing a number of wounded townspeople taking advantage of the more spacious area. Lissa got to work immediately, while Reflet went around assuring the people that things would be fine and that the bandits had been taken care of.

There ultimately wasn’t much for the three men to do except watch Lissa work her healing arts, however, and so once fears had been assuaged they stood by the door to talk. Reflet watched for his sister out of the corner of his eye, while Frederick and Chrom tried to decide how they felt about the twins.

“Will your sister be alright?” Chrom ventured, after the silence had been drawn out, and Reflet laughed.

“I’d be more worried about the bandit than her. She’ll be fine, as long as he still has her necklace and hasn’t ruined it somehow.”

“It must be important to her.”

Reflet glanced at him.

“It’s important to the both of us.”

Chrom paused, unsure of whether she should probe further or not, and Frederick took this moment to ask the more pressing questions of his own.

“You took the Prince Exalt hostage,” he says, “And yet you save a village, without asking anything in return. Are you friends or foes of Ylisse? Forgive my saying so, but you and your sister wear Plegian garb, and we have been experiencing skirmishes along our border.”

Reflet blinked and inspected his cloak.

“Well, first off, we didn’t _know_ he was Prince Exalt. As for the second part…I suppose in all honesty we are neutral? I must confess, my sister and I woke in a field nearby the forest to the bandits stealing her necklace, but we seem to…ah, be missing some memories.”

Frederick’s wary gaze grew even warier.

“Missing some memories?”

Reflet met his stare without breaking it, his eyes clear and showing no sign of falsity.

“Indeed. They seem to be coming back in pieces and our bodies seem to remember some things on their own—like how to respond to battle. However, we seem to be rather…displaced. For instance, we understood the Mark of Naga and that Chrom was the Prince Exalt of Ylisse, and yet we are not entirely sure what that means, nor where Ylisse is in the scheme of the world. You say that we wear Plegian garb, and yet I, and surely my sister as well, do not know where it is, presuming that it is a place like Ylisse is. We are quick to pick up cues, but there remains the fact that we must do so in the first place to fill in what is not there.”

The two other men were quiet for a moment.

“That sounds like quite the story,” Frederick said, clearly still doubtful. Reflet didn’t seem offended as he shrugged, looking out the door again.

“It does, but it’s the truth, and one we are not taking as well as we seem to be. It unsettles us greatly, that we do not know where we are, amongst a number of other things. That fight for instance…we relied very much on what simply felt natural, though neither of us seem to be able to recall how or when or from whom we learned the skills. It was beyond simply knowing each other well.”

He perked up when he spotted his sister making her way over from the distance, waving to her. She waved back and jogged over to reach him faster, a smile on her lips and the necklace in her hand.

“Did he play nice?” he asked, and Robin snorted.

“Do you think he did? I made him cry before I slit his throat.”

Something about it made Chrom wince, though he was not a stranger to killing. Robin glanced at him, frowning.

“I didn’t torture him, I’m not a barbarian. I’m just apparently rather intimidating when I’m angry. Either way, he and his men won’t be pillaging any more towns, and I’ve retrieved what is mine.”

She held up the necklace—more to confirm it with her brother than to show Chrom and Frederick—and three silver eyes with an amethyst in the middle for the iris shone in the light.

“The chain is broken, but it should be easy enough to find a smith to fix it.” she said, clearly pleased now that she had the necklace in her possession.

“That’s a unique design,” Chrom commented, “It’s a relief you got it back. Your brother said it was important to you…the both of you.”

Robin raised an eyebrow, looking at her brother, who shrugged. It was personal information, but fairly harmless in the scheme of things—and, well, they _had_ already gotten the prince, his sister, and their knight involved, so they deserved _some_ information, she supposed.

“Yes,” she said slowly, “It’s a matching set; our mother gave us these when we were children.”

Reflet pulled out his own necklace and held it near Robin’s, the charm forming some sort of strange symbol together.  They looked at it for a moment before looking at each other.

 “…Funnily enough, I’m…not sure what it’s supposed to mean anymore,” Robin said in a somewhat strangled voice, her eyebrows furrowed. Given Reflet’s silence, he didn’t remember either. The pieces missing in their memories were so _odd_ ; how could she and her brother have known which such clarity that their necklaces were a matching set given to them by their mother and were so terribly important to them, and yet not remember the meaning of the charm itself?

There was an awkward pause as the twins stared the jeweled eyes. Their expressions were grimmer now, and were not unnoticed by Chrom and Frederick.

“I’m done!” Lissa called, making her way over to the group. “None of them were hurt too badly, thank Naga. Some of them might be sore or have a headache for a few days, but they’ll be right as rain in the long run.”

“Good,” Chrom said, and Robin and Reflet looked satisfied. Lissa turned to the twins, a bright smile on her face.

“We saw you fight, by the way! That was incredible, I’ve never seen two people fight the way you do! You got your necklace back, I presume?”

She peered at the jewelry that the twins were still holding together, _oohing_ at what she saw.

“Interesting design! I’ve never seen the like. Pretty, either way!” she said cheerily. The twins’ expression softened a little at her good humor as Reflet tucked his back under his shirt, while Robin slipped hers into her pocket.

Chrom exchanged a look with Frederick, who looked exasperated but said nothing.

“So, have you two given any thought about what you’re doing next?” the prince said casually.

The twins shrugged.

“I don’t know. Whatever the wind takes us, perhaps. There’s too much we’re missing; it seems best for us to take some time and travel to see what we can learn,” Reflet said, chewing on his lower lip. Robin inclined her head to show that she thought the same, though she looked at the prince with a bored expression.

“Why, what do you have in mind?” she said, her body tensing ever so slightly. Chrom held up his hands to show that he was not about to suggest anything hostile, and was not about to dole out some sort of punishment for taking him hostage earlier. She didn’t relax, which he didn’t take offense to.

“Would you two care to join the Shepherds?”

The twins raised an eyebrow.

“The Exalt-Prince tends sheep? Shocking,” Robin said flatly, and Chrom grinned.

“In a manner of speaking.” he replied, amused, “There are a lot of sheep to be tended—or defended. Call it a vigilante militia of sorts. At the moment, especially, we’ve got a number of skirmishes breaking out along the border between Ylisse and Plegia, and the Shepherds could use able fighters such as yourselves.” He held up his hand again at their raised eyebrows and continued. “Additionally, we house our members and, if I do say so myself, there is no place better to find information than at the castle and with the Shepherds. We have the royal library at our disposal for one, and we travel to many places with relative ease because of our status. Granted, you will unfortunately see a lot of fighting, but we do our best to protect people, as you have done today, regardless of the intention of recovering your necklace. You asked Lissa to heal the townspeople and were relieved when she said they would be fine, and my heart says that is sufficient proof of your good intentions, regardless of what Frederick feels about your dubious past.”

The twins blinked at his short speech and exchanged a look. Robin shrugged at her brother’s questioning gaze, and motioned for him to speak first.

“You present fair points,” he said slowly, weighing the next words on his tongue, “And…my sister and I may be able to provide more than just fighting finesse.”

It was Chrom and Frederick’s turn to raise an eyebrow, while Lissa simply looked curious.

“We’re tacticians,” Robin said in a matter-of-fact manner. “It’s part of the reason we fight so well together. We are two halves of a whole in terms of how close we are and how well we know each other, yes, but when fighting there is also the element of calculation. How our enemies might move, how we should respond, whether it is more beneficial for us to stick together or act separately. That sort of thing.”

“So we can do more than add to your fighting force,” Reflet continued with a nod, “We can keep your army alive.”

They turned to Frederick then, who met both of their gazes squarely. After a while, he simply inclined his head towards Chrom.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Chrom said, and the twins smiled, executing a perfectly mirrored bow, complete with a flourish.

“We would be glad to join your service,” they said together.

Lissa giggled at the dramatics, as Chrom shook their hands. Frederick let out a short sigh, but moved to greet the twins into their squad as well.

“Oh, don’t look so sour, Sir Frederick,” Robin said with a grin, “You’ll need more eyes to watch your reckless prince. And princess, if that glint in her eyes says anything,” she added with a glance at Lissa, who immediately schooled her face into an innocent expression.

“It is true,” Frederick said gravely, “Though not necessarily from strangers we have just met, with unclear origins. But I rest my case. I must confess, it may have bruised my ego that you slipped between milord and I during our meeting in the forest. I have not been caught off-guard very often, good lady , and I do not intend to let it happen again.”

Robin shrugged.

“It was a matter of being quiet and moving fast. You stick to the prince, yes, but you’re not a burr. And while you expected a trap, you did not expect someone in the trees. It may be a sparser forest, but it does not mean that there are no hiding places.”

Frederick nodded.

“I will keep that in mind.”

Chrom smiled, turning to Reflet.

“Your sister has just won over our wariest knight. Or begun to, anyway. And please,” he said, also addressing Robin, “call me Chrom, we don’t run on formalities in the Shepherds, though Frederick is an exception. He’s been with the family for years.”

The twins’ eyes glittered mischievously, but before either of them could say anything they were hailed by one of the townspeople, asking them all to stay the night. Frederick demurred just as Lissa was beginning to list off her preferences for food, letting out a gasp of dismay when she had registered what the knight said.

“But Frederick, it’s nearly dark!” Lissa said, and he chuckled.

“When night falls, we’ll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like. Have you not mentioned before that you would be ‘getting used to this’ sort of lifestyle?”

The young princess grumbled. “Frederick? Sometimes I hate you.”

“My, my, such a stern lieutenant you have here,” Robin said, as her brother propped his arm on her shoulder despite being approximately the same height.

“The age-old caretaker, with his age-old traditions!” Reflet joined in lazily, referring to what Chrom had said previously about the knight being with the family for years, “The young ones can’t get a bit of fun around him, can they? Who makes this old man laugh?”

“Frederick only smiles when he’s about to bring down the axe,” Chrom said gravely, and the twins mirrored each other’s expression as they covered their mouths in mock horror.

“Gracious! I suppose we’ll have to behave ourselves around him, won’t we, brother?”

“Or we must keep him amused by bringing him sacrifices, won’t we, sister?”

Frederick cleared his throat loudly, glaring at his liege and the twins—not with hostility, but not quite with amusement, either.

“You do realize that I am present, yes?” he said somberly. “And—I am not quite so old, yet.”

The twins grinned at his ever-so-slight irritation at the second part.

“Oh, we realize,” Chrom replied, waving his hand.

“But you don’t deny that you only smile when you’re bringing down the axe?” Robin asked innocently, not even flinching when Frederick glared again.

“I perform my duty to House Ylisse with great honor and loyalty _regardless_ of my expression,” he said, tilting his chin up slightly. “I smile plenty when the moment is fitting.”

“He’s still not denying that he _does_ smile when he’s bringing down the axe, though,” Reflet whispered audibly to his sister, and Lissa stifled her laughter with both hands.

“Maybe he does it unknowingly,” Chrom added in the same loud whisper, “Perhaps we should be more careful the next time he laughs.”

Frederick cleared his throat again.

“Milord remains as amusing as ever,” he said, “And it seems that we have found new comrades not only for battle but to share in milord’s excellent sense of humor. Now if we are done poking fun at my expense, may we be on our way back to Ylisstol?”

Chrom grinned, and waved for the group to head out.

“Aw, don’t be mad, Sir Frederick,” Robin said, striding beside him, “They say those with the most talents are the ones who are most subject to teasing. It helps us remind ourselves that you are still one of us humans, you see.”

He glanced sidelong at her.

“And who says that?”

“…Me?”

His lips quirked up in a vague smile before he sighed.

“I took no offense, good lady, do not worry. As milord as said, I have been with the Exalted family for years; I am well used to the humor by now. And please; just Frederick is fine. To your brother, as well,” he said, nodding to Reflet.

Robin grinned. “Good to know—Reflet and I are relentless. And please, it’s Robin. I am no ‘good lady’.”

“Yes, perhaps a better title would be ‘wicked lady’. I, on the other hand, would not mind being called ‘good sir’.” Reflet said loftily, also grinning.

His sister elbowed him gently in the side, and he pretended to be in pain.

“Ah! See what she does to me? Her own brother!”

“See how he acts! Deception would not come so naturally to a _good sir_. No, it would be best to call him by name as well, lest he forgets who he is admits all the falsity.”

Reflet sighed dramatically. “I suppose I must relent, seeing as I’ve clearly lost my chance to be called something more flattering!”

Lissa giggled at their antics, as Chrom laughed openly and Frederick allowed himself to smile. The twins smiled back, and the group fell into easy conversation as they continued on their way back to Ylisstol. 

When they stopped to make camp for the night (Lissa pouting as she reminded them that she _said_ it was getting dark) the twins volunteered to gather firewood together. In the paling light of the forest, they were finally alone for a private conversation.

“You think this is alright?” Reflet asked after a few moments of silent wood collecting, adding another stick to his growing bundle.

Robin snapped a particularly large stick in half before adding it to her own bundle. Her initial response was to be cheeky and ask if he was talking about the firewood, but she knew he was referring to their decision to travel with the prince, his sister, and their knight.

“Who knows?” she said quietly, after some hesitation. “It does still seem like the best viable option available to us, anyhow.”

“It’s just…unsettling.” He knew there was more to her statement that she had decided was ultimately unnecessary to mention, but it was precisely that that he wanted to bring up. “There’s…something about this that feels right to me, but something…wrong, at the same time. I can’t understand it, and it’s worrisome.”

Robin looked at him and he knew that he had said exactly what she had been feeling as well.

“I agree. But like I said, I think this is still the best viable option we can take. And, well, we took it in the end anyway, didn’t we?”

“That we did. I’m sorry, perhaps I’m just overthinking things. It’s odd being so disconnected from our surroundings; I just feel like we knew a great deal more about _things_ before waking up in that field, and were _surer_ of ourselves because of that knowledge.”

“No, don’t doubt yourself. And again, I agree. You’re not wrong for being cautious; Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick all seem the good sort, but you never know. But…we’re here now, and still together, no matter how we ended up the way we did. And we’ll work our way through this together as well, as we always have.”

Reflet smiled.

“You’re right.”

He held up his arm, Robin linking hers with his as she smiled as well.

“We’ll get through this together or die trying,” she said, eyes burning.

“Always,” he said, sharing the ferocity in her eyes.

“Always,” she repeated with a nod.

The two stared at each other for a moment in silence, before they stepped back and adjusted the wood in their arms so that it was easier to carry now that their other hand was free.

“Then we’d better get back before Frederick guts us,” Reflet said, humor back in his voice. Robin laughed.

“We’ve got more than enough wood to make up for the time we were gone,” she reasoned, jerking her chin towards the path back to camp and starting to walk.

Despite the vague unease in the back of their minds, they would deal with the problem when it manifested itself more clearly. Of the things they _hadn’t_ forgotten, it was the fact that they tackled things together and worked together through everything. Even if they couldn’t remember the childhood that had built this relationship to its current strength, this bond was one thing that they could trust in wholeheartedly without any doubt.

This was one thing that could not be weathered by any means, and so taking comfort in that, they would in time relax and begin making up for what they had lost in preparation for an unforeseeable, dubious future.

Slowly, they left the darkening forest behind.

 

**Author's Note:**

> ~~and then everything goes downhill when Grima possesses one of the twins, WELP~~


End file.
